Chemometric analysis of chemical agents using electrochemical detection and classification techniques

An integrated electrode device to collect and analyze a sample, comprising:

• a substrate of an electrically insulative material;
• a plurality of electrodes of an electrically conductive material on the substrate forming a single electrode contingent for an electrochemical analysis of one or more chemical agents present in a sample collected on the integrated electrode device, wherein the single electrode contingent of the electrode strip is structured to include (i) one working electrode and one reference electrode or (ii) one working electrode, one counter electrode, and one reference electrode;
• and
• electrode interface contacts on the substrate and electrically coupled to the electrodes via electrically conductive conduits,
• wherein the integrated electrode device is operable for the electrochemical analysis when the sample is in physical contact with the working electrode and electrically coupled, via the electrode interface contacts, to an electrical circuit to transduce chemical information associated with the one or more chemical agents to an electrical signal, and wherein the electrical circuit is in communication with a data processing unit configured to process the electrical signal as data to identify the one or more chemical agents by determining an electrochemical spectral signature based on the chemical information contained in the transduced electrical signal and to determine a level of exposure of the sample to the one or more chemical agents by:
• generating a series of coefficients of the electrochemical spectral signature to compress the data, and
• classifying the chemical information based on the series of coefficients among preselected data sets to determine a level of exposure to the one or more chemical agents, the classifying including performing pattern recognition using the preselected data sets and the series of coefficients to assign a group membership or ranking to the chemical information by maximizing inter-group variance between unique groups and minimizing intra-group variance.

A method to identify and analyze exposure levels of a chemical agent, comprising:

• collecting, at an electrode strip, a sample from a surface containing a chemical agent to an electrode of a sensor on the electrode strip to cause a contact between the chemical agent and the electrode;
• detecting, at an electrochemical analysis unit, an electrochemical signal of the chemical agent on the electrode to transduce chemical information associated with the chemical agent to an electrical signal;
• processing, at a data processing unit, the electrical signal to generate data to obtain an electrochemical spectral signature from the data to identify the chemical agent;
• and
• classifying, at the data processing unit, the chemical information based on predetermined data indicating different levels of exposure to the chemical agent under different conditions to determine a level of exposure to the chemical agent from the sample,
• wherein the level of exposure to the chemical agent from the sample is determined by:
• generating a series of coefficients of the electrochemical spectral signature by compressing the data, and
• performing pattern recognition using the predetermined data and the series of coefficients to assign a group membership or ranking to the chemical information by maximizing inter-group variance between unique groups and minimizing intra-group variance.